Chap 14-Return

 

— Kwaaaaaaaang!!!

A radiance that seemed to blind the eyes erupted.

Power transcending common sense overwhelmed the space.

Even the air sank as if crushed by a giant hand.

Dorothy slowly raised one hand.

— Kugugugugugu!!!

A massive Mana surged around her.

It seemed to be running wild, but in reality, it was a power refined with extreme precision and delicacy.

The immense power surged and shook the air, but not a single fragment flowed out without her intention.

She coldly sighed and looked at Envia.

“This disgusting bitch dares… to take that form…”

Her voice sank chillingly.

As Dorothy slightly moved her hand, Envia’s form, which looked exactly like me, gradually crumbled,

beginning to revert to its original ugly black mass.

“Kuaaaaaaaak!!”

Envia screamed and writhed.

Black smoke billowed from her body.

She struggled, instinctively trying to scatter her body.

However, as long as Dorothy’s Mana dominated the space, no change was allowed.

Envia glared at Dorothy and reached out her hand.

“No, no, no, no!!”

The black energy that made up her slowly scattered, and at the same time, her body began to collapse.

— Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!

Light exploded.

A radiance like a star exploding.

Her magic itself was a disaster.

The Calamity-Class Monster that had plagued humanity for nearly a thousand years vanished so futilely.

‘This is insane.’

Despite such a powerful attack, not a single tree around was shaken, and everything remained in its original state.

Only Envia had disappeared.

Even after using this immense power, Dorothy didn’t budge.

Without a single breath out of place, she simply lowered her hand calmly.

And she looked at me.

“Looks like it’s roughly over.”

Only then did I take a deep breath.

“…Haa.”

Bella collapsed to the ground, and I staggered, trying to regain my balance.

Dorothy slowly approached.

Her gaze pierced through me.

“Don’t even think about making excuses, tell me everything without leaving anything out.”

…

Dorothy quietly looked down at Yeon.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

Contamination Worshippers who infiltrated the academy.

Of course, Dorothy didn’t want to send Yeon to prison, but at the time, the academy was in a more dangerous state.

Instead, she had no choice but to badger Isaac Bennett, that bastard, to put pressure on the prison so that Yeon wouldn’t be uncomfortable in her life.

‘I sent her to rest and recuperate, but…’

The state of her beloved disciple was even worse than when she had last seen her two months ago.

‘Haa. Where do I even begin with this?’

She unfolded her arms and slowly approached Yeon.

And very lightly—

Thwack!

Yeon’s head snapped forward.

Yeon stared at her with dazed eyes, showing no sign of pain.

Seeing that, Dorothy’s anger flared up again.

She was still indifferent to her own pain.

But the next moment, Dorothy frowned at the reaction she saw.

‘What’s with that expression?’

Yeon was holding her head and had a look of disappointment on her face.

“……”

Dorothy took a very short breath.

‘I must have seen it wrong?’

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

Dorothy lowered her voice and began to press Yeon.

Yeon flinched and lowered her head.

Dorothy waited for her to answer, still maintaining a cold gaze.

And finally, Yeon quietly opened her mouth.

“…I’m sorry.”

Dorothy tilted her head slightly.

“What are you sorry for?”

Yeon’s voice was lower than she expected.

Dorothy examined her more closely.

Her head was down, and she looked completely dejected.

Suddenly, Dorothy’s heart softened.

And then came her answer.

“Again… people were put in danger because of me.”

“……”

Dorothy was enraged by her disciple’s absurd words.

That devastatingly low self-esteem that turned people into trash.

She knew that Yeon wasn’t doing it on purpose because she had deep self-hatred to begin with, but…

Dorothy sighed deeply.

“Haa…”

And very naturally—

Thwack!

She smacked Yeon’s head again.

“……!”

Yeon staggered slightly from the unexpected attack, but still showed no signs of pain.

Dorothy frowned again as she looked at Yeon.

“Please, at least pretend it hurts, it’s awkward for the person who hit you.”

Then, Yeon awkwardly covered her head.

“Aaaack… It hurts…?”

Dorothy simply crossed her arms and shook her head at her terrible acting.

“So, what did you do wrong?”

Yeon shrank back again.

“……So, people were put in danger because of me—”

Thwack!

“……!”

“That’s not why. Haa…”

Dorothy sighed deeply and hugged Yeon tightly in her arms.

“It’s not your fault, my disciple.”

Her foolish and endearing disciple, who tried to take responsibility for everything even at the cost of sacrificing herself.

Dorothy was always saddened by her constant self-deprecation and guilt.

Dorothy thought to herself.

‘I need to teach her slowly. This time, for sure.’

She had to fix the misplaced guilt that the child held deep inside.

At that moment.

Slight movement-

Yeon twisted her body slightly in Dorothy’s arms with a strange expression.

‘What is it? Why does she have that expression?’

Yeon slightly turned her head and glanced at Bella, who was standing blankly beside her.

To be exact…

It was towards Bella’s chest.

Possessing a presence that was on a different level from Dorothy’s, even with armor on.

“You… is that what’s important to you even in this situation?”

Gathering all the emotions she had, she delivered an even stronger punch.

Thwack!

“Keuheuk…!”

Yeon collapsed without saying a word of excuse.

Her body limply slumped.

Dorothy stared blankly at Yeon.

“…Huh?”

She scratched the back of her head with a slightly embarrassed expression.

‘I really hit her lightly…’

She quietly checked Yeon’s pulse.

‘It’s serious.’

She had cast recovery magic on Yeon and Bella while listening to their story, so their bodies were fine.

The problem was the soul.

‘Malice’ is an authority of level 11.

The realm where a Transcender forces their own laws or concepts onto the world, level 11.

A powerful authority that even she, a level 10, couldn’t handle carelessly.

A level 5 was using something like that, so it was inevitable that problems would arise.

Cracks were everywhere in her soul.

If this continued, problems would inevitably arise even if her body recovered.

“Um…”

‘Was it Bella Staren?’

She was a memorable child.

An academy graduate who graduated with excellent grades five years ago and immediately went to the battlefield, starting to achieve various merits.

“It’s been a while, Bella.”

When she called her name, Bella was startled and bowed her head.

“Is that child… alright?”

Bella was looking at Yeon, who had collapsed, with a worried expression.

“For now, yes. She just fainted for a moment. Her body is fine.”

Only then did Bella take her eyes off Yeon, as if relieved.

“Bella Staren.”

“Yes, yes!”

Bella was startled and stood up straight.

“Let’s go back to the academy. You come with me too. There’s something I want to ask you.”

Dorothy said briefly and immediately waved her hand.

The space willingly opened the way according to her will.

The trivial fact that this was a Teleportation Prohibited Zone meant nothing to her.

In the blink of an eye, they had already arrived on the magic circle in Dorothy’s office at the academy, which she had prepared in advance.

Dorothy sat down in her chair as usual and pointed to Yeon.

“Lay that child down, and you sit down too.”

Bella carefully laid Yeon on the bed and sat down on the opposite chair with a stiff body.

Dorothy tilted her head slightly and looked straight at Bella.

“From now on, answer exactly what I ask. Without leaving anything out.”

She needed to find out how much Bella knew.

And she also needed to judge whether she was someone she could trust.

‘If I judge that she’s a child I can’t trust…’

I have to erase her memories of Yeon.

But she didn’t want to do that.

Because she sensed that she didn’t have much time left to stay in Terra.

She needed someone who could help Yeon besides herself.

She seemed too weak to be by her disciple’s side, but she could solve that if she helped.

Dorothy glanced at Bella.

Hmm…

Just now.

She remembered the strangely regretful expression Yeon had made when she was hugged by her just before collapsing.

She could also increase her size with magic as much as she wanted.

But magic was magic, and in the end, it couldn’t solve the fundamental problem.

Dorothy tried to maintain a somewhat gentle expression, but she couldn’t stop the twitch in the corner of her mouth.

“Yes! I understand.”

Bella stood up straight, looking very nervous.

Dorothy Lightshield.

Among the Transcenders, she was evaluated as being in the lower ranks in terms of power, but even she could easily destroy Terra entirely if she set her mind to it.

Therefore, it was very natural for Bella to be nervous in front of Dorothy.

The question she asked Bella was…

“What kind of food do you usually eat?”

“Yes?”

Bella blinked and was flustered by the unexpected question.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

Dorothy suddenly realized what she had said and came to her senses.

‘Ah, that’s not it…’

“Ah, I mean… I was just asking about the importance of simple nutrition.”

“…..Yes?”

“Protein intake is essential to maintain muscle mass.”

Dorothy crossed her arms, pretending to be calm.

“I was just curious about what kind of diet you maintain as a knight. Protein intake or… calcium, hmm hmm.”

Bella still looked at Dorothy as if something was strange.

“…..Suddenly?”

Dorothy tried hard to maintain her composure, but she couldn’t hide the annoyance that was bursting out from within.

‘Damn it, that troublemaker disciple is making me ask strange questions too.’

Bella pondered Dorothy’s words for a moment, then carefully answered.

“…I don’t pay special attention to what I eat, but I do maintain a meat-based diet.”

Dorothy nodded as if she understood.

“……I see.”

‘So… was that it?’

Dorothy Lightshield.

Thousands of years old.

She likes vegetables more than meat.

Author’s Note

I have posted an announcement about future updates!

Thank you for reading today!